Bloons works surprisingly well as a strategy card game | Digital Trends (2024)

If you spent any time on a computer in the late 2000s, there’s a good chance you recognize the name Bloons. The colorful series a gaming staple of the era, with five games and multiple updates to each released between 2007 and 2009. It began as a browser-based puzzle game about popping balloons, but quickly evolved into a surprisingly robust tower defense game that’s still going strong.

The series is about to change once again thanks to Bloons Card Storm. This time, developer Ninja Kiwi is reimagining its iconic game as a deck-building strategy game. That’s a surprising shift on paper, but it’s one that actually fits in practice. I gave the upcoming card game a spin, trying out a few of its early levels. While it took me some time to get used to it, I can already see the markings of a mobile hit here.

Bloons Card Storm isn’t actually all that different from Bloons Tower Defense; it has the same pieces, just shuffled into a different format. Players still have to defend a “tower” from incoming balloons by placing dart-shooting monkeys and tack shooters, but this time, the assault goes both ways. Each level is a duel between monkeys who take turns playing cards to build their defenses and lay down balloons.

As a card game, it shares some similarities with Hearthstone. I have one mana to work with each turn, but I get one more each turn. Each of my cards has a specific cost, so the early game has me placing basic balloons that’ll only do a small chunk of damage to my opponent or dart monkeys who only deal 20 or so damage. Like Hearthstone, my monkey hero also has a set of offensive abilities I can activate on my turn, like raining down an arrow storm on my opponent to pop their balloons.

There are several unique twists to that established formula, though. For one, each balloon on the field has a turn countdown noting when it will attack. A basic balloon will fly over in one turn or so, but a high damage one like a MOAB may take a few more. I have to manage those timers wisely to avoid damage by plucking away at their health with my defenses. I can either choose to manually attack on my turn by dragging and aiming at a target or let them auto attack when the enemy’s turn begins and their balloons cross into my side of the field. Conversely, I need to try and fortify my own balloons, or just play enough to spread my opponent’s defenses thin, to overwhelm them with damage.

It took me a bit to get the hang of. There’s a lot of battlefield management that has to be done in order to keep track of a field full of incoming balloons. Which one should I target first? When should I attack? Should I use my mana to summon more balloons on my turn or go all-in on defense? That decision-making can get complicated, making for a surprisingly in-depth strategy hook.

I’ve only scratched the surface of that loop for now on PC, but I imagine that mobile will be the place to play. It feels built for phones with its dragging controls and quick matches. The Bloons games have always worked best as friendly time-wasters that are easy to get lost in thanks to intuitive controls and a pleasant aesthetic. I can see it becoming a go-to game for anyone looking to kill five minutes here and there. And when I say “anyone,” you bet that I mean “me.”

Bloons Card Storm launches later this year for iOS, Andoid, and PC.